A Little Christmas Music
I’m taking a little detour from my “Women in Rock” history series to post some of my favorite Christmas songs. I do this each year, and there are repeats from year to year. But then, that’s part of the point of Christmas music, isn’t it?
I once won a substantial bet with someone who could not believe Elvis had done a Christmas album (he actually did more than one). I got the sense that she saw his bad-boy image and profane hip thrusts as simply incompatible with anything holy.
I didn’t have the heart to collect — it was, after all, Christmas. Here’s a great version of my favorite Elvis Christmas song. It’s a virtual duet — his partner in this, Martina McBride, was actually 11 when Elvis died.
There are three famous “Ave Maria”s — by Bach, Vavilov/Caccini, and Schubert. Schubert’s is probably the most popular and (to most people) recognizable of the three. Ironically, it was not originally a religious song per se, but it has since been modified and re-interpreted hundreds of times and is now a Christmas staple.
Here is one of my favorite renditions by Finnish baritone (and world-class metal bassist) Marko Hietala and my №1 vocalist of all time, the Dutch diva Floor Jansen:
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Every year, Finland hosts a Christmas rock festival. Here is Floor Jansen performing “O Holy Night” while more than six months pregnant. In Finnish. Why not? I’m not religious, but this is when the music almost makes a believer of me.
